SUNY Binghamton's 'Stop White People' Training Causes Debate

Binghamton University, a four-year state-operated school in upstate New York, is under fire for reportedly offering a "#StopWhitePeople2K16" course to its students this fall. Upon closer inspection of a tweeted photo with the class description though, it's clear the "course" was actually a one-time residential advisor session hosted by three RAs: Ciaran Slattery, Nicholas Pulakos, and Urenna Nwogwugwu. Regardless, the name of the event sparked a viral debate online about race, privilege, and divisiveness in our nation.

Teen Vogue has reached out to Ciaran, Nicholas, and SUNY-Binghamton's Multicultural Resource Center director, Dr. Nicole Sirju-Johnson for comment. (Urenna's contact information was not available to us.)

The notice for the session starts with, "The purpose of this session is to help others take the next step in understanding diversity, privilege, and the society we function within." The most controversial part states: "when encountered with 'good arguments' from uneducated people, how do you respond?"

It's not entirely clear who is making these "good arguments" and who is considered "uneducated," but several people and sites have postulated that these "people" being referred to are white ones. This garnered a string of comments from upset individuals who accused the session of promoting racism toward whites or reverse racism. As was written in The Binghamton Review, a conservative paper on campus: "The name is divisive, politically motivated, and does nothing to actually prevent racism. If anything, it seems to imply that the “uneducated people” mentioned in the event description must be white."

Officials at SUNY-Binghamton defended the session too, and its name, pointing out that they didn't invent the hashtag. Dr. Sirju-Johnson told The Fix that the name was a “nationally trending hashtag” and "I don’t see a problem with it.” The school's vice president of student affairs, Brian Rose, released a statement to the site, which further explained that the session was "optional," and created by students in an effort "to facilitate a discussion among the RAs that would improve their ability to handle conflicts among residents around issues of diversity.” The Fix continues, "Rose said the session explored 'reverse racism, the relationship of communities of color with police, whiteness, crime, and segregation,' in an open conversation format."

By today, the conversation over the validity of the event continues and multiple national news stations are weighing in, too. It can be argued that the name was insensitive, and in today's hypersensitive online culture on both sides of the aisle, the students who conceived of this course should have come up with a better moniker. Parts of the description too — such as use of the term "uneducated people" — were unnecessarily inflammatory. But focusing on these superficial aspects misses the point of the meeting, which was spot on, especially given the tense racial climate that overtook several campuses late last year and the incidents of police brutality as well as violence toward police that are plaguing our nation right now.

For the record, Rose disclosed that after the uproar online, the school's student affairs office reviewed the session and its content. It found that approximately 40 to 50 RAs chose to attend, and the event produced a "respectful and productive conversation."

This was probably the only intent of the RAs, and this sort of open discourse in a campus setting about tough topics is something that should be commended.